International Assistance granted to the property until 2000

Conservation issues presented to the World Heritage Committee in 2000

IUCN has reviewed the first-year progress report on the implementation of the “Focused Recommendations” prepared by the ACIUCN and the State Party. IUCN had pointed out as part of its state of conservation report on the site that problems of integrated management of land and catchments represent the most serious threat to the Great Barrier Reef, and had noted the urgency of the need for effective integrated catchment management to reduce environmental impact on the World Heritage site. The progress report describes the establishment of a number of community-based Catchment Management Committees and the implementation of several associated projects in catchments from where waters flow into the World Heritage Area. IUCN has welcomed these initiatives and notes that planning for these Committees needs to be clearly and effectively linked with long-term strategic objectives and strategies for the management of the World Heritage Area.

Decisions adopted by the Committee in 2000

Adopted

Draft Decision

24BURIV.B.22

State of conservation

World Natural Heritage Properties of Australia

The Bureau noted that progress reports on the Great Barrier Reef and the Wet Tropics of Queensland would be reviewed by the twenty-fourth extraordinary session of the Bureau.

24COMVIII.24

World Natural Heritage Properties of Australia

VIII.24 World Natural Heritage Properties of Australia

Shark Bay, Western Australia

Great Barrier Reef

The Secretariat informed the Committee that a letter on the recent grounding incident was received from the Australian authorities on 28 November 2000 and that a report will be presented to the twenty-fifth session of the World Heritage Bureau in 2001.

The Bureau may wish to adopt the following and transmit it to the Committee for noting:

“The Bureau thanks the State Party for submitting a first-year progress report on the implementation of the “Focused Recommendations” adopted by the Committee at its twenty-third session. The Bureau notes with satisfaction the State Party's efforts to involve local communities in the work of Management Committees that are beginning to address integrated land and catchment management issues. The Bureau invites the State Party to sustain the pace of progress in the implementation of the “Focused Recommendations” achieved in the first year and submit the second-year report to the next extraordinary session of the Bureau in 2001.”

* :
The threats indicated are listed in alphabetical order; their order does not constitute a classification according to the importance of their impact on the property.
Furthermore, they are presented irrespective of the type of threat faced by the property, i.e. with specific and proven imminent danger (“ascertained danger”) or with threats which could have deleterious effects on the property’s Outstanding Universal Value (“potential danger”).